"For some races we were the best bike, now they are. Fortunately, they became stronger only in the second part of the season"

On another Ducati branded day, the last one to throw in the towel was once again Marc Márquez. At Misano, the Spaniard once again tried to maintain the pace of the ‘Reds’, managing much better than the rest of the starting grid and taking home (with a pinch of luck) twenty points that are as sweet as they are needed.“In warm up I had prepared to make a play for the win – Marc began – but I knew that I had to understand the condition to know what I could set my sights on. The bike slid around a lot more than expected and it was hard to be fast on turns. In spite of that, I made up ground, but Dovi had more than us. I tried to follow Jorge to get a little something more in the finale, and in the end, we took home four points more than we would have for third place.”

Marc cannot help but admit the current value of the Ducatis

“Battling against the Ducatis is difficult. I managed to follow them, but it was almost impossible to overtake them. In fact, I passed Jorge thanks to his mistake. It’s hard to tell how much ground we have lost behind them. There were four or five races where we were the best bike, but now it’s Ducati. Fortunately, they became so much stronger only in the second part of the season, so I can manage the points I earned in the first half.”

Looking at the overall standings now, his primary rival is Andrea Dovizioso, but Marc is also keeping an eye on Lorenzo.

“Both the Ducatis are the primary rival. We are well aware that they are equals. If we look at the warm up, it was Dovizioso, whereas if we look at FP4, it was Lorenzo. It depends on when you look, but in any case, they are always out front. When your teammate goes fast, the entire package grows and rivalry in the garage leads to giving 100%, looking for that improvement on a turn as soon as your teammate does.”

In any case, Marc will have the chance to hone his weapons in the test after the GP of Aragón, also working on the 2019 bike.

“We’ll do both things. They still haven’t told me the plan, but we’ll work on all fronts. Our bikes are prototypes, so they are in constant evolution throughout the year.”

Aragón is also historically one of his strongholds, where perhaps he may be able to get back to his winning ways.

“In Aragón I will certainly be super motivated and it is one of my favourite tracks, but I have to use my head and be realistic. If you can’t win, you just can’t and that’s it. It’s just one more race and we’ll be back next year on that track. The goal is to finish on the podium every time. After all, every Thursday we start with the desire to win, but during the weekend we figure out our potential. Will I attack for Dovi? He says that to get me to make a mistake (laughing).”